Interlock arrangement for attaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments include an interlock arrangement that may be used to attach a lens barrel to a lens carrier of a camera. In some embodiments, the interlock arrangement may restrict movement of the lens barrel relative to the lens carrier along at least an optical axis. In various examples, the interlock arrangement may include one or more grooves and one or more protrusions. For instance, a groove may be defined by the lens barrel or the lens carrier, and a protrusion may extend from the lens barrel or the lens carrier to at least partially into the groove. In some cases, the interlock arrangement may include an adhesive that at least partially fills gaps within the interlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier. According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement may include one or more recesses that provide inlets for the adhesive to be introduced to the gaps within the interlock arrangement.

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/521,196 filed on Jun. 16, 2017, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. To the extent that anyincorporated material conflicts with the material expressly set forthherein, the expressly set forth material controls.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure relates generally to an interlock arrangement forattaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier of a camera.

Description of the Related Art

The advent of small, mobile multipurpose devices such as smartphones andtablet or pad devices has resulted in a need for high-resolution, smallform factor cameras for integration in the devices. Some small formfactor cameras may include a lens barrel that is threaded so that it canbe fastened to another camera component. Furthermore, some small formfactor cameras may include a lens barrel that is bonded to anothercamera component using an adhesive. In some such designs, the bondbetween the lens barrel and the other camera component may be fragiledue to the adhesive being primarily in tension and/or shear undercertain circumstances (e.g., a drop event), and therefore the lensbarrel may tend to detach from the other camera component.

Some small form factor cameras may incorporate optical imagestabilization (OIS) mechanisms that may sense and react to externalexcitation/disturbance by adjusting location of the optical lens on theX and/or Y axis in an attempt to compensate for unwanted motion of thelens. Some small form factor cameras may incorporate an autofocus (AF)mechanism whereby the object focal distance can be adjusted to focus anobject plane in front of the camera at an image plane to be captured bythe image sensor. In some such autofocus mechanisms, the optical lens ismoved as a single rigid body along the optical axis (referred to as theZ axis) of the camera to refocus the camera.

SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS

A device may include a lens barrel and a lens carrier. The lens barrelmay hold one or more lens elements that define an optical axis. The lenscarrier may be attached to the lens barrel at least partially via aninterlock arrangement. In some instances, the interlock arrangement mayrestrict movement of the lens barrel relative to the lens carrier alongat least the optical axis.

According to some examples, the interlock arrangement may include agroove and a protrusion. The groove may be defined by the lens barrel orthe lens carrier. The protrusion may extend from the lens barrel or thelens carrier to at least partially into the groove. Furthermore, theinterlock arrangement may include an adhesive. The adhesive may at leastpartially fill gaps within the interlock arrangement between the lensbarrel and the lens carrier. In some embodiments, the interlockarrangement may include a recess defined by the lens barrel and/or thelens carrier. The recess may provide an inlet for the adhesive to beintroduced to the gaps within the interlock arrangement between the lensbarrel and the lens carrier. According to some embodiments, theinterlock arrangement may be configured such that, when the adhesive isintroduced via the recess, the adhesive travels via capillary effect toat least partially fill the gaps within the interlock arrangementbetween the lens barrel and the lens carrier.

In some examples, at least a first portion of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel in a firstdirection. For example, the first direction may be parallel to theoptical axis. Additionally, or alternatively, at least a second portionof the adhesive may be in compression when force is applied to the lensbarrel in a second direction. For instance, the second direction may beopposite the first direction.

Some embodiments include a camera module. The camera module may includeone or more lens elements that define an optical axis, a lens barrelthat holds the lens elements, a lens carrier, and an interlockarrangement to attach the lens barrel to the lens carrier. According tovarious embodiments, the interlock arrangement may include one or moregrooves, one or more protrusions, and an adhesive. The grooves may bedefined by the lens barrel and/or the lens carrier. The protrusions mayextend from the lens barrel and/or the lens carrier. For example, eachrespective protrusion may extend at least partially into a respectivegroove. The adhesive may at least partially fill gaps within theinterlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier. Invarious embodiments, one or more portions of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel in directionsparallel to the optical axis.

In some examples, the interlock arrangement may include one or morerecesses defined by the lens barrel. For instance, each of the recessesmay provide a respective inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to thegaps within the interlock arrangement. In some embodiments, when theadhesive is introduced via the recesses, the adhesive may travel viacapillary effect to at least partially fill the gaps within theinterlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier.

Some embodiments include a method of assembling a camera module havingan interlock arrangement. The method may include inserting a lens barrelat least partially into a lens carrier such that a protrusion of theinterlock arrangement extends from the lens barrel or the lens carrierto at least partially into a first portion of a groove of the interlockarrangement. The groove may be defined by the lens barrel or the lenscarrier. In some cases, the method may include rotating the lens barrelabout an optical axis defined by one or more lens elements held by thelens barrel, such that the protrusion extends at least partially into asecond portion of the groove. Furthermore, the method may includedispensing an adhesive into a recess that is formed on the lens barrelto provide an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to the interlockarrangement. For instance, the adhesive may be dispensed into the recesssuch that the adhesive travels to at least partially fill gaps withinthe interlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example camera module thatincludes an example interlock arrangement for attaching a lens barrel toa lens carrier, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a process flow diagram of an example process forattaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier via an interlock arrangement,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of an example cameramodule that includes an example interlock arrangement, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A-4B each illustrate a respective view of an example lens barrelthat includes one or more protrusions of an interlock arrangement, inaccordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4A shows a perspective view ofthe lens barrel. FIG. 4B shows a top view of the lens barrel.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an example camera module thatincludes an example interlock arrangement for attaching a lens barrel toa lens carrier, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process flow diagram of an example process forattaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier via an interlock arrangement,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7B each illustrate a respective cross-sectional side view of anexample camera module that includes an example interlock arrangement, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 8A-8B each illustrate a respective view of an example lens barrelthat includes one or more grooves of an interlock arrangement, inaccordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8A shows a perspective view ofthe lens barrel. FIG. 8B shows a top view of the lens barrel.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of an example camera module thatincludes an example interlock arrangement for attaching a lens barrel toa lens carrier, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example method of assembling a cameramodule having an interlock arrangement, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic side view of an example camera modulehaving an example voice coil motor (VCM) actuator for moving an opticalpackage that may include an interlock arrangement, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a portable multifunction devicethat may include a camera, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 13 depicts a portable multifunction device that may include acamera, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example computer system that may include acamera, in accordance with some embodiments.

This specification includes references to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment.” The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “inan embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.Particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner consistent with this disclosure.

“Comprising.” This term is open-ended. As used in the appended claims,this term does not foreclose additional structure or steps. Consider aclaim that recites: “An apparatus comprising one or more processor units. . . ” Such a claim does not foreclose the apparatus from includingadditional components (e.g., a network interface unit, graphicscircuitry, etc.).

“Configured To.” Various units, circuits, or other components may bedescribed or claimed as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In suchcontexts, “configured to” is used to connote structure by indicatingthat the units/circuits/components include structure (e.g., circuitry)that performs those task or tasks during operation. As such, theunit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform the taskeven when the specified unit/circuit/component is not currentlyoperational (e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used withthe “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits,memory storing program instructions executable to implement theoperation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/component is “configuredto” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, for that unit/circuit/component.Additionally, “configured to” can include generic structure (e.g.,generic circuitry) that is manipulated by software and/or firmware(e.g., an FPGA or a general-purpose processor executing software) tooperate in manner that is capable of performing the task(s) at issue.“Configure to” may also include adapting a manufacturing process (e.g.,a semiconductor fabrication facility) to fabricate devices (e.g.,integrated circuits) that are adapted to implement or perform one ormore tasks.

“First,” “Second,” etc. As used herein, these terms are used as labelsfor nouns that they precede, and do not imply any type of ordering(e.g., spatial, temporal, logical, etc.). For example, a buffer circuitmay be described herein as performing write operations for “first” and“second” values. The terms “first” and “second” do not necessarily implythat the first value must be written before the second value.

“Based On.” As used herein, this term is used to describe one or morefactors that affect a determination. This term does not forecloseadditional factors that may affect a determination. That is, adetermination may be solely based on those factors or based, at least inpart, on those factors. Consider the phrase “determine A based on B.”While in this case, B is a factor that affects the determination of A,such a phrase does not foreclose the determination of A from also beingbased on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solely on B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments include camera equipment outfitted with an interlockarrangement that may be used to attach a lens barrel to a lens carrier.In various examples, the lens barrel and/or the lens carrier may bethreadless, e.g., the lens barrel and the lens carrier may not have amatching pair of male-female threads.

In some embodiments, a device may include a lens barrel and a lenscarrier. The lens barrel may hold one or more lens elements that definean optical axis. The lens carrier may be attached to the lens barrel atleast partially via an interlock arrangement. In some instances, theinterlock arrangement may restrict movement of the lens barrel relativeto the lens carrier along at least the optical axis.

According to some examples, the interlock arrangement may include agroove and a protrusion. As used herein, the term “groove” may refer toa channel that is sized such that the protrusion may fit at leastpartially into the channel and move along the channel when the lensbarrel is inserted into the lens carrier. As used herein, the term“recess” may refer to an opening that is sized and positioned such thatwhen the lens barrel is in a certain position within the lens carrier, achannel is formed such that adhesive may be introduced into a groovethrough the channel, but the channel is sized such that the protrusioncannot pass through the channel.

The groove may be defined by the lens barrel or the lens carrier. Theprotrusion may extend from the lens barrel or the lens carrier to atleast partially into the groove. For instance, the protrusion may extendtowards the groove in a direction that is orthogonal to the opticalaxis. In some cases, the groove may be an L-shaped groove formedcircumferentially along an outer periphery of the lens barrel or aninner periphery of the lens carrier.

Furthermore, the interlock arrangement may include an adhesive. Theadhesive may at least partially fill gaps within the interlockarrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier. In someembodiments, the interlock arrangement may include a recess defined bythe lens barrel and/or the lens carrier. The recess may provide an inletfor the adhesive to be introduced to the gaps within the interlockarrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier. According tosome embodiments, the interlock arrangement may be configured such that,when the adhesive is introduced via the recess, the adhesive travels viacapillary effect to at least partially fill the gaps within theinterlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier. Forinstance, the interlock arrangement may form a channel between the lensbarrel and the lens carrier that is sized such that, when the adhesiveis introduced via the recess, the adhesive traverses the channel viacapillary effect to at least partially fill the gaps within theinterlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier.

In some examples, at least a first portion of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel in a firstdirection. For example, the first direction may be parallel to theoptical axis. Additionally, or alternatively, at least a second portionof the adhesive may be in compression when force is applied to the lensbarrel in a second direction. For instance, the second direction may beopposite the first direction.

In some cases, the interlock arrangement may include multiple groovesand multiple protrusions. For instance, the interlock arrangement mayinclude a first groove defined by the lens barrel or the lens carrier,and another groove defined by the lens barrel or the lens carrier. Whenthe lens barrel is attached to the lens carrier via the interlockarrangement, the first groove and the second groove may be opposite oneanother with respect to the lens barrel. Furthermore, the interlockarrangement may include a first protrusion that extends from the lensbarrel or the lens carrier to at least partially into the first groove,and a second protrusion that extends from the lens barrel or the lenscarrier to at least partially into the second groove. When the lensbarrel is attached to the lens carrier via the interlock arrangement,the first protrusion and the second protrusion may be opposite oneanother with respect to the lens barrel.

In some embodiments, the device may be a mobile device (e.g., a mobilemultifunction device). The mobile device may include a camera module.The lens barrel, the lens carrier, and the interlock arrangement may bepart of the camera module. The camera module may further include animage sensor configured to capture light passing through the lenselements and convert the captured light into image signals. Furthermore,the camera module may include a lens actuator to move the lens carrierrelative to the image sensor (and/or to move the image sensor relativeto the lens carrier). The mobile device may further include a displayand one or more processors in some embodiments.

In some cases, the processors may be configured to cause the lensactuator (e.g., a voice coil motor (VCM) actuator, amicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuator, etc.) to move the lenscarrier relative to the image sensor and/or to move the image sensorrelative to the lens carrier, e.g., to provide autofocus and/or opticalimage stabilization functionality. In some examples, the processors maybe configured to cause the display to present an image based at least inpart on one or more image signals from the image sensor.

In some embodiments, a camera module may include one or more elementsthat define an optical axis, a lens barrel that holds the one or morelens elements, a lens carrier, and an interlock arrangement to attachthe lens barrel to the lens carrier. According to various embodiments,the interlock arrangement may include one or more grooves, one or moreprotrusions, and an adhesive. The grooves may be defined by the lensbarrel and/or the lens carrier. The protrusions may extend from the lensbarrel and/or the lens carrier. For example, each respective protrusionmay extend at least partially into a respective groove. The adhesive mayat least partially fill gaps within the interlock arrangement betweenthe lens barrel and the lens carrier. In various embodiments, one ormore portions of the adhesive may be in compression when force isapplied to the lens barrel in directions parallel to the optical axis.

In some examples, the interlock arrangement may include one or morerecesses defined by the lens barrel. For instance, each of the recessesmay provide a respective inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to thegaps within the interlock arrangement. In some embodiments, when theadhesive is introduced via the recesses, the adhesive may travel viacapillary effect to at least partially fill the gaps within theinterlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier. Forinstance, the interlock arrangement may form one or more channelsbetween the lens barrel and the lens carrier. The channel may be sizedsuch that, when the adhesive is introduced via the recesses, theadhesive traverses the channels via capillary effect to at leastpartially fill the gaps within the interlock arrangement between thelens barrel and the lens carrier. In various embodiments, the channelmay include one or more of the gaps within the interlock arrangement.

In some cases, at least a first portion of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel in a firstdirection that is parallel to the optical axis. Additionally, oralternatively, at least a second portion of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel in a seconddirection that is opposite the first direction.

According to some examples, the grooves may include a first groovedefined by the lens carrier. The protrusions may include a firstprotrusion that extends from the lens barrel to at least partially intothe first groove. The interlock arrangement may include a first recessdefined by the lens barrel and/or the lens carrier, and locatedproximate the first protrusion. For instance, the first recess may belocated above the first protrusion. The first recess may provide a firstinlet for the adhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlockarrangement between surfaces of the first groove and the firstprotrusion. In some cases, the grooves may include a second groovedefined by the lens carrier. The protrusions may include a secondprotrusion that extends from the lens barrel to at least partially intothe second groove. The second protrusion may be opposite the firstprotrusion with respect to the lens barrel in some cases. Furthermore,the interlock arrangement may include a second recess defined by thelens barrel and/or the lens carrier, and located proximate the secondprotrusion. For instance, the second recess may be located above thesecond protrusion. The second recess may provide a second inlet for theadhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlock arrangementbetween surfaces of the second groove and the second protrusion.

In some embodiments, the grooves may include a first groove defined bythe lens barrel. The protrusions may include a first protrusion thatextends from the lens carrier to at least partially into the firstgroove. The interlock arrangement may include a shoulder that extendsfrom the lens barrel, e.g., along a plane orthogonal to the opticalaxis. In some examples, the shoulder may be a portion of the lens barrelthat extends to overlap a portion of the lens carrier. In someinstances, the shoulder may limit the amount the lens barrel may beinserted into the lens carrier. The shoulder may define a first recesslocated proximate the first groove. For instance, the first recess maybe located above the first groove. The first recess may provide a firstinlet for the adhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlockarrangement between surfaces of the first groove and the firstprotrusion. In some cases, the grooves may include a second groovedefined by the lens barrel. The protrusions may include a secondprotrusion that extends from the lens carrier to at least partially intothe second groove. The second protrusion may be opposite the firstprotrusion with respect to the lens barrel in some instances.Furthermore, the interlock arrangement may include a second recessdefined by the shoulder and located proximate the second groove. Forinstance, the second recess may be located above the second groove. Thesecond recess may provide a second inlet for the adhesive to beintroduced to gaps within the interlock arrangement between surfaces ofthe second groove and the second protrusion.

Some embodiments include a method of assembling a camera module havingan interlock arrangement. The method may include inserting a lens barrelat least partially into a lens carrier such that a protrusion of theinterlock arrangement extends from the lens barrel or the lens carrierto at least partially into a first portion of a groove of the interlockarrangement. The groove may be defined by the lens barrel or the lenscarrier. In some cases, the method may include rotating the lens barrelabout an optical axis defined by one or more lens elements held by thelens barrel, such that the protrusion extends at least partially into asecond portion of the groove. Furthermore, the method may includedispensing an adhesive into a recess that is formed on the lens barrelto provide an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to the interlockarrangement. For instance, the adhesive may be dispensed into the recesssuch that the adhesive travels to at least partially fill gaps withinthe interlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier.

In some embodiments, dispensing the adhesive into the recess may includefilling, with a first portion of the adhesive, a first gap between afirst surface of the protrusion and a first surface of the groove. Forexample, the first gap may be filled with the first portion of theadhesive via capillary effect. In some cases, the first portion of theadhesive may be in compression when force is applied to the lens barrelin at least a first direction. For instance, the first direction may beparallel to the optical axis. Additionally, or alternatively, dispensingthe adhesive into the recess may include filling, with a second portionof the adhesive, a second gap between the lens barrel and the groove.For example, the second gap may be filled with the second portion of theadhesive via capillary effect. In some cases, the second portion of theadhesive may be in compression when force is applied to the lens barrelin at least a second direction. For instance, the second direction maybe opposite the first direction.

According to some embodiments, the method may include adjusting aposition of the lens barrel relative to an image sensor. For instance,the position of the lens barrel may be adjusted to orient the lenselements in an aligned position in which the lens elements are opticallyaligned with the image sensor. In some implementations, the position ofthe lens barrel may be adjusted during a time period that occurs afterrotating the lens barrel. Furthermore, in some implementations, themethod may include curing the adhesive to bond the lens barrel to thelens carrier and to fix the lens elements in the aligned position.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that some embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks havenot been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspectsof the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed asecond contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a firstcontact, without departing from the intended scope. The first contactand the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the samecontact.

The terminology used in the description herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting. As used in the description and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willalso be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example camera module 100that includes an example interlock arrangement 102 for attaching a lensbarrel 104 to a lens carrier 106, in accordance with some embodiments.In some embodiments, the camera module 100 may include one or multiplefeatures, components, and/or functionality of embodiments describedherein with reference to FIGS. 2-14.

In some embodiments, the lens barrel 104 may hold one or more lenselements 108 (also referred to herein as the “lens 108”) that define anoptical axis 110. According to various embodiments, the lens barrel 104may be a threadless lens barrel. Furthermore, the lens carrier 106 maybe a threadless lens carrier. For illustrative purposes, FIG. 1 showsthe camera module 100 in an exploded view in which the lens barrel 104is not attached to the lens carrier 106. However, as discussed infurther detail herein, the lens barrel 104 may be attached to and/orinterlocked with the lens carrier 106 via the interlock arrangement 102.For instance, a drop-and-turn process may be used to interlock the lensbarrel 104 with the lens carrier 106 via the interlock arrangement 102,e.g., as described below with reference to FIG. 2. In variousembodiments, the interlock arrangement 102 may restrict movement of thelens barrel 104 relative to the lens carrier 106 along at least theoptical axis 110 (e.g., in the +z and −z directions). As such, theinterlock arrangement 102 may prevent the lens barrel 104 from detachingfrom the lens carrier 106 under certain circumstances such as a dropevent.

According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement 102 may includeone or more grooves 112 and one or more protrusions 114. For example, agroove 112 may be defined by the lens barrel 104 or the lens carrier106. A protrusion 114 may extend from the lens barrel 104 or the lenscarrier 106 to at least partially into the groove 112. In some cases,the protrusion 114 may extend towards the groove 112 in a direction thatis orthogonal to the optical axis 110. Furthermore, the groove 112 maybe an L-shaped groove formed circumferentially along an outer peripheryof the lens barrel 104 or an inner periphery of the lens carrier 106.FIG. 1 shows grooves 112 defined by the lens carrier 106, andprotrusions 114 extending from the lens barrel 104 to at least partiallyinto the grooves 112.

In various examples, the interlock arrangement 102 may include anadhesive (e.g., epoxy, glue, etc.). The adhesive may at least partiallyfill gaps within the interlock arrangement 102 between the lens barrel104 and the lens carrier 106. According to some embodiments, theinterlock arrangement 102 may include one or more recesses 116. Forinstance, a recess 116 may be defined by the lens barrel 104. The recess116 may provide an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to the gapswithin the interlock arrangement 102 between the lens barrel 104 and thelens carrier 106. For instance, the adhesive may be dispensed into theinterlock arrangement 102 via the recess 116, and the adhesive maytravel via capillary effect to at least partially fill gaps within theinterlock arrangement 102.

In some instances, at least a first portion of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel 104 in a firstdirection. For example, the first direction may be parallel to theoptical axis 110. Additionally, or alternatively, at least a secondportion of the adhesive may be in compression when force is applied tothe lens barrel 104 in a second direction. For instance, the seconddirection may be opposite the first direction.

According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement 102 may includefour grooves 112, four protrusions 114, and/or four recesses 116, e.g.,as indicated in FIG. 1. In some instances, each of the protrusions 114may extend from the lens barrel 104 to at least partially into arespective groove 112. In some embodiments, a first pair of protrusions114 may be located opposite one another with respect to the lens barrel104, and a second pair of protrusions 114 may be located opposite oneanother with respect to the lens barrel 104. Furthermore, each recess116 may be located proximate a respective protrusion 114. For instance,each recess 116 may be located above a respective protrusion 114. Itshould be understood, however, that in some embodiments the interlockarrangement 102 may include fewer or more grooves 112, protrusions 114,and/or recesses 116, than shown in FIG. 1. It should also be understoodthat in some embodiments the grooves 112, protrusions 114, and/orrecesses 116 may be shaped, positioned, and/or oriented differently thanshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates a process flow diagram of an example process 200 forattaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier via an interlock arrangement,in accordance with some embodiments. For clarity, the followingdiscussion with respect to the process 200 of FIG. 2 will also refer toelements of FIG. 1. It should be understood, however, that in someembodiments the process 200 may include one or multiple features,components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein withreference to FIGS. 1 and 3-14.

At 202, the process 200 may include inserting the lens barrel 104 atleast partially into the lens carrier 106. For instance, the lens barrel104 may be positioned above the lens carrier 106 and inserted into thelens carrier 106 along a path that substantially follows an axis, e.g.,the optical axis 110. When inserting the lens barrel 104 into the lenscarrier 106, the protrusions 114 may be oriented such that they are eachaligned with a respective first portion of a respective groove 114. Insome examples, a first portion of a groove 112 may extend in a firstdirection, e.g., a direction parallel to the optical axis 110. In someembodiments, the groove 112 may be formed on one or more inner surfacesof the lens carrier 106.

At 204, the process 200 may include rotating the lens barrel 104. Forexample, the lens barrel 104 may be rotated, relative to the lenscarrier 106, clockwise or counterclockwise about the optical axis 110.In various embodiments, each of the protrusions 114 may engage arespective groove 112 while the lens barrel 104 is being rotated. Forinstance, each groove 112 may have a respective second portion thatextends in a second direction that is different than the first directionof the respective first portion of the groove 112. In some examples, thesecond direction may be orthogonal to the first direction. Additionally,or alternatively, the second direction may extend circumferentiallyalong a portion of an inner periphery of the lens carrier 106. Accordingto some embodiments, the respective first portion of the groove 112 andthe respective second portion of the groove 112 may together form anL-shaped groove. The L-shaped groove may extend circumferentially alonga portion of an inner periphery of the lens carrier 106 in someembodiments.

At 206, the process 200 may include dispensing adhesive into theinterlock arrangement 102. For instance, the adhesive may be dispensedinto the interlock arrangement 102 at least partially via the recesses116. In some examples, the adhesive may be dispensed into the recesses116 such that the adhesive travels to at least partially fill gapswithin the interlock arrangement 102 between the lens barrel 104 and thelens carrier 106. Additionally, or alternatively, the adhesive may bedispensed into one or more slots and/or recesses formed by the lenscarrier 106. For example, each of the respective first portions of thegrooves 112 may form, or be part of, a respective insertion slot throughwhich the lens barrel 104 may be initially inserted into the lenscarrier 106. In some instances, the insertion slots may provide inletsfor the adhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlockarrangement 102 between the lens barrel 104 and the lens carrier 106.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of an example cameramodule 300 that includes an example interlock arrangement, in accordancewith some embodiments. For example, the cross-sectional side view ofFIG. 3 may correspond to a cross-section taken along section line 3-3shown in FIG. 2. In some embodiments the camera module 300 may includeone or multiple features, components, and/or functionality ofembodiments described herein with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4A-14.

In various examples, the camera module 300 may include a lens barrel 104that is attached to a lens carrier 106 via an interlock arrangement 102.According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement 102 may includeone or more grooves 112, one or more protrusions 114, an adhesive 302(e.g., epoxy, glue, etc.), and one or more recesses 116. As shown inFIG. 3, the grooves 112 may be defined by the lens carrier 106.Furthermore, the protrusions 114 and the recesses 116 may be defined bythe lens barrel 104. Each respective protrusion 114 may extend from thelens barrel 104 to at least partially into a respective groove 112. Theprotrusions 114 may extend in a direction that is orthogonal to theoptical axis 110 in some embodiments. The adhesive 302 may at leastpartially fill gaps within the interlock arrangement 102 between thelens barrel 104 and the lens carrier 106.

In some instances, one or more forces may be applied to the lens barrel104 in one or more directions parallel to the optical axis 110. In thecase of a drop event, for example, opposite forces may be applied to thelens barrel 104 and the lens carrier 106 upon impact. In some othercamera designs, an adhesive used to bond a lens barrel to a lens carriermay be primarily in tension and/or shear, not compression, when forcesare applied to the lens barrel in directions parallel to the opticalaxis. As such, the lens barrel in those other camera designs may tend todetach from the lens carrier as a result of a drop event and/or anothersituation in which forces are applied to the lens barrel. In contrast,in various embodiments described herein one or more portions of theadhesive 302 may be in compression when force is applied to the lensbarrel 104, e.g., in directions parallel to the optical axis 110(defined by one or more lens elements held by the lens barrel 104).Accordingly, embodiments of the interlock arrangement described hereinmay be more likely to prevent the barrel 104 from detaching from thelens carrier 106 than the other camera designs (in which the adhesive isprimarily in tension and/or shear) in some instances.

In some cases, a first portion 304 of the adhesive 302 may fill a firstgap between a protrusion 114 and a groove 112. The first portion 304 maybe located proximate an upper surface and/or an upper portion of theprotrusion 114. In some embodiments, the first portion 304 may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel 104 in a firstdirection parallel to the optical axis 110 (e.g., the +z direction).

Additionally, or alternatively, a second portion 306 of the adhesive 302may fill a second gap between the protrusion 114 and the groove 112. Thesecond portion 306 may be located proximate a lower surface and/or alower portion of the protrusion 114. In some embodiments, the secondportion 306 may be in compression when force is applied to the lensbarrel 104 in a second direction parallel to the optical axis 110 (e.g.,the −z direction).

In some embodiments, a third portion 308 of the adhesive 302 may fill athird gap between the protrusion 114 and the groove 112. The thirdportion 308 may be located proximate a radial surface and/or a radialportion of the protrusion 114. For instance, the radial surface/portionof the protrusion 114 may extend from the upper surface/portion of theprotrusion 114 to the lower surface/portion of the protrusion 114.

In some examples, the third gap (filled by the third portion 308 of theadhesive 302) may be smaller than the first gap (filled by the firstportion 304 of the adhesive 302) and/or the second gap (filled by thesecond portion 306 of the adhesive 302). The first gap and the secondgap may be larger than the third gap to accommodate an adjustment of theposition of the lens barrel 104 relative to an image sensor (e.g., theimage sensor 1124 described below with reference to FIG. 11) in someembodiments. For instance, the position of the lens barrel 104 may beadjusted to orient one or more lens elements in the lens barrel 104 to afocused and/or optically aligned position with the image sensor, e.g.,as discussed below with reference to FIG. 10. In some embodiments, anactive alignment process may be used to adjust the position of the lensbarrel 104 to optically align the lens elements with the image sensor.

In some embodiments, the gaps within the interlock arrangement 102between the lens barrel 104 and the lens carrier 106 may be sized suchthat the adhesive 302 may travel from the recesses 116 to at leastpartially fill the gaps via capillary effect. In some non-limitingexamples, one or more of the gaps may have a dimension ranging fromabout 20 microns to about 200 microns.

FIGS. 4A-4B each illustrate a respective view of an example lens barrel400 that includes one or more protrusions of an interlock arrangement,in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4A shows a perspective view ofthe lens barrel 400. FIG. 4B shows a top view of the lens barrel 400. Insome embodiments the lens barrel 400 may include one or multiplefeatures, components, and/or functionality of embodiments describedherein with reference to FIGS. 1-3 and 5-14.

According to some examples, the lens barrel 400 may define one or moreprotrusions and/or one or more recesses. For example, as shown in FIGS.4A-4B, the lens barrel 400 may define a first protrusion 114 a, a secondprotrusion 114 b, a third protrusion 114 c, and a fourth protrusion 114d. Furthermore, the lens barrel 400 may define a first recess 116 a, asecond recess 116 b, a third recess 116 c, and a fourth recess 116 d.

In some embodiments, each of the recesses may be located proximate arespective protrusion. The first recess 116 a may be located proximatethe first protrusion 114 a. For example, the first recess 116 a may belocated above the first protrusion 114 a in some embodiments. The secondrecess 116 b may be located proximate the second protrusion 114 b. Forexample, the second recess 116 b may be located above the secondprotrusion 114 b in some embodiments. The third recess 116 c may belocated proximate the third protrusion 114 c. For example, the thirdrecess 116 c may be located above the third protrusion 114 c in someembodiments. The fourth recess 116 d may be located proximate the fourthprotrusion 114 d. For example, the fourth recess 116 d may be locatedabove the fourth protrusion 114 d in some embodiments.

In some examples, the protrusions 114 a-114 d may extend from differentparts of a face of the lens barrel 104 in different directions. Forinstance, the first protrusion 114 a may extend in a first directionfrom a first part of a face of the lens barrel 104. The secondprotrusion 114 b may extend in a second direction from a second part ofthe face of the lens barrel 104. The third protrusion 114 c may extendin a third direction from a third part of the face of the lens barrel104. In some embodiments, the third direction may be opposite the firstdirection. The fourth protrusion 114 d may extend in a third directionfrom a fourth part of the face of the lens barrel 104. In someembodiments, the fourth direction may be opposite the second direction.

In some embodiments, one or more of the protrusions 114 a-114 d mayinclude an angled face. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, each ofthe protrusions 114 a-114 d includes a face that is non-parallel withthe optical axis 110. The angled face of a protrusion may fit within agroove having a corresponding angle, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 3.Additionally, or alternatively, one or more of the protrusions 114 a-114d may have faces that are parallel to the optical axis 110, e.g., asillustrated in FIG. 9. It should be understood that the protrusionsand/or the grooves may have any other shape suitable for the interlockarrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an example camera module 500that includes an example interlock arrangement 502 for attaching a lensbarrel 504 to a lens carrier 506, in accordance with some embodiments.In some embodiments, the camera module 500 may include one or multiplefeatures, components, and/or functionality of embodiments describedherein with reference to FIGS. 1-4B and 6-14.

In some embodiments, the lens barrel 504 may hold one or more lenselements 508 (also referred to herein as the “lens 508”) that define anoptical axis 510. For illustrative purposes, FIG. 5 shows the cameramodule 500 in an exploded view in which the lens barrel 504 is notattached to the lens carrier 506. However, as discussed in furtherdetail herein, the lens barrel 504 may be attached to and/or interlockedwith the lens carrier 506 via the interlock arrangement 502. Forinstance, a drop-and-turn process may be used to interlock the lensbarrel 504 with the lens carrier 506 via the interlock arrangement 502,e.g., as described below with reference to FIG. 6. In variousembodiments, the interlock arrangement 502 may restrict movement of thelens barrel 504 relative to the lens carrier 506 along at least theoptical axis 510 (e.g., in the +z and −z directions). As such, theinterlock arrangement 502 may prevent the lens barrel 504 from detachingfrom the lens carrier 506 under certain circumstances such as a dropevent.

According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement 502 may includeone or more grooves 512 and one or more protrusions 514. For example, agroove 512 may be defined by the lens barrel 504 or the lens carrier506. A protrusion 514 may extend from the lens barrel 504 or the lenscarrier 506 to at least partially into the groove 512. In some cases,the protrusion 514 may extend towards the groove 512 in a direction thatis orthogonal to the optical axis 510. Furthermore, the groove 512 maybe an L-shaped groove formed circumferentially along an outer peripheryof the lens barrel 504 or an inner periphery of the lens carrier 506.FIG. 5 shows grooves 512 defined by the lens barrel 504, and protrusions514 extending from the lens carrier 506 to at least partially into thegrooves 512.

In various examples, the interlock arrangement 502 may include anadhesive (e.g., epoxy, glue, etc.). The adhesive may at least partiallyfill gaps within the interlock arrangement 502 between the lens barrel504 and the lens carrier 506. According to some embodiments, theinterlock arrangement 502 may include one or more recesses 516. Forinstance, a recess 516 may be defined by the lens barrel 504. In somecases, the interlock arrangement 502 may include a shoulder 518 thatextends from the lens barrel 504, e.g., along a plane orthogonal to theoptical axis 510. The shoulder 518 may define the recess 516 in someembodiments. The recess 516 may provide an inlet for the adhesive to beintroduced to the gaps within the interlock arrangement 502 between thelens barrel 504 and the lens carrier 506. For instance, the adhesive maybe dispensed into the interlock arrangement 502 via the recess 516, andthe adhesive may travel via capillary effect to at least partially fillgaps within the interlock arrangement 502.

In some instances, at least a first portion of the adhesive may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel 504 in a firstdirection. For example, the first direction may be parallel to theoptical axis 510. Additionally, or alternatively, at least a secondportion of the adhesive may be in compression when force is applied tothe lens barrel 504 in a second direction. For instance, the seconddirection may be opposite the first direction.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process flow diagram of an example process 600 forattaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier via an interlock arrangement,in accordance with some embodiments. For clarity, the followingdiscussion with respect to the process 600 of FIG. 6 will also refer toelements of FIG. 5. It should be understood, however, that in someembodiments the process 600 may include one or multiple features,components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein withreference to FIGS. 1-5 and 7A-14.

At 602, the process 600 may include inserting the lens barrel 504 atleast partially into the lens carrier 506. For instance, the lens barrel504 may be positioned above the lens carrier 506 and inserted into thelens carrier 506 along a path that substantially follows an axis, e.g.,the optical axis 510. When inserting the lens barrel 504 into the lenscarrier 506, a first portion of a groove 114 may be aligned with acorresponding protrusion 514 of the lens carrier 506. In some examples,the first portion of the groove 512 may extend in a first direction,e.g., a direction parallel to the optical axis 510. In some embodiments,the groove 514 may be formed on one or more outer surfaces of the lensbarrel 504.

At 604, the process 600 may include rotating the lens barrel 504. Forexample, the lens barrel 504 may be rotated, relative to the lenscarrier 506, clockwise or counterclockwise about the optical axis 510.In various embodiments, each of the protrusions 514 may engage arespective groove 512 while the lens barrel 504 is being rotated. Forinstance, each groove 512 may have a second portion that extends in asecond direction that is different than the first direction of the firstportion of the groove 512. In some examples, the second direction may beorthogonal to the first direction. Additionally, or alternatively, thesecond direction may extend circumferentially along a portion of anouter periphery of the lens barrel 504. According to some embodiments,the first portion of the groove 512 and the second portion of the groove512 may together form an L-shaped groove. The L-shaped groove may extendcircumferentially along a portion of an outer periphery of the lensbarrel 504 in some embodiments.

At 606, the process 600 may include dispensing adhesive into theinterlock arrangement 502. For instance, the adhesive may be dispensedinto the interlock arrangement 502 at least partially via the recesses516. In some examples, the adhesive may be dispensed into the recesses516 such that the adhesive travels to at least partially fill gapswithin the interlock arrangement 502 between the lens barrel 504 and thelens carrier 506.

FIGS. 7A-7B each illustrate a respective cross-sectional side view of anexample camera module 700 that includes an example interlockarrangement, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, thecross-sectional side views of FIGS. 7A and 7B may correspond tocross-sections taken along section lines 7A-7A and 7B-7B, respectively,shown in FIG. 6. In some embodiments, the camera module 700 may includeone or multiple features, components, and/or functionality ofembodiments described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-6 and 8A-14.

In various examples, the camera module 700 may include a lens barrel 504that is attached to a lens carrier 506 via an interlock arrangement 502.According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement 502 may includeone or more grooves 512, one or more protrusions 514, an adhesive 702(e.g., epoxy, glue, etc.), and one or more recesses 516. As shown inFIG. 7A, the grooves 512 and the recesses 516 may be defined by the lensbarrel 504. Furthermore, the protrusions 514 may be defined by the lenscarrier 506. Each respective protrusion 514 may extend from the lenscarrier 506 to at least partially into a respective groove 512. Theprotrusions 514 may extend in a direction that is orthogonal to theoptical axis 510 in some embodiments. The adhesive 702 may at leastpartially fill gaps within the interlock arrangement 502 between thelens barrel 504 and the lens carrier 506.

In some instances, one or more forces may be applied to the lens barrel504 in one or more directions parallel to the optical axis 510. In thecase of a drop event, for example, opposite forces may be applied to thelens barrel 504 and the lens carrier 506 upon impact. As shown in FIG.7A, a first portion 704 of the adhesive 702 may fill a first gap betweena protrusion 514 and a groove 512 in some embodiments. The first portion704 may be located proximate a lower surface and/or a lower portion ofthe protrusion 514. In some embodiments, the first portion 704 may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel 504 in a firstdirection parallel to the optical axis 510 (e.g., the +z direction).

Additionally, or alternatively, a second portion 706 of the adhesive 702may fill a second gap between one or more surfaces of the lens carrier506 and the shoulder 518, e.g., as shown in FIG. 7B. The second portion706 may be located proximate a lower surface and/or a lower portion ofthe shoulder 518. In some embodiments, the second portion 706 may be incompression when force is applied to the lens barrel 504 in a seconddirection parallel to the optical axis 510 (e.g., the −z direction).

In some embodiments, the gaps within the interlock arrangement 502between the lens barrel 504 and the lens carrier 506 may be sized suchthat the adhesive 702 may travel from the recesses 516 to at leastpartially fill the gaps via capillary effect.

FIGS. 8A-8B each illustrate a respective view of an example lens barrel800 that includes one or more grooves of an interlock arrangement, inaccordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8A shows a perspective view ofthe lens barrel 800. FIG. 8B shows a top view of the lens barrel 800. Insome embodiments, the lens barrel 800 may include one or multiplefeatures, components, and/or functionality of embodiments describedherein with reference to FIGS. 1-7B and 9-14.

According to some examples, the lens barrel 800 may define one or moregrooves and/or one or more recesses. For example, as shown in FIGS.8A-8B, the lens barrel 800 may define a first groove 512 a, a secondgroove 512 b, a third groove 512 c, and a fourth groove 512 d.Furthermore, the lens barrel 800 may define a first recess 516 a, asecond recess 516 b, a third recess 516 c, and a fourth recess 516 d. Insome embodiments, the recesses may be formed on a shoulder 518 thatextends from the lens barrel, e.g., along a plane orthogonal to theoptical axis 510.

In some embodiments, each of the recesses may be located proximate arespective groove. The first recess 516 a may be located proximate thefirst groove 512 a. For example, the first recess 516 a may be locatedabove the first groove 512 a in some embodiments. The second recess 516b may be located proximate the second groove 512 b. For example, thesecond recess 516 b may be located above the second groove 512 b in someembodiments. The third recess 516 c may be located proximate the thirdgroove 512 c. For example, the third recess 516 c may be located abovethe third groove 512 c in some embodiments. The fourth recess 516 d maybe located proximate the fourth groove 512 d. For example, the fourthrecess 516 d may be located above the fourth groove 512 d in someembodiments.

In some examples, the first groove 512 a and the third groove 512 c maybe opposite one another with respect to the lens barrel 800.Furthermore, the second groove 512 b and the fourth groove 512 d may beopposite one another with respect to the lens barrel 800 in some cases.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of an example camera module 900that includes an example interlock arrangement 902 for attaching a lensbarrel 904 to a lens carrier 906, in accordance with some embodiments.In some embodiments, the camera module 900 may include one or multiplefeatures, components, and/or functionality of embodiments describedherein with reference to FIGS. 1-8B and 10-14.

In some embodiments, the lens barrel 904 may hold one or more lenselements 908 (also referred to herein as the “lens 908”) that define anoptical axis 910. For illustrative purposes, FIG. 9 shows the cameramodule 900 in an exploded view in which the lens barrel 904 is notattached to the lens carrier 906. However, as discussed in furtherdetail herein, the lens barrel 904 may be attached to and/or interlockedwith the lens carrier 906 via the interlock arrangement 902. Forinstance, a drop-and-turn process may be used to interlock the lensbarrel 904 with the lens carrier 906 via the interlock arrangement 902,e.g., as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6. In variousembodiments, the interlock arrangement 902 may restrict movement of thelens barrel 904 relative to the lens carrier 906 along at least theoptical axis 910 (e.g., in the +z and −z directions). As such, theinterlock arrangement 902 may prevent the lens barrel 904 from detachingfrom the lens carrier 906 under certain circumstances such as a dropevent.

As shown in FIG. 9, the interlock arrangement 902 may include one ormore protrusions 914 that extend along a first axis (e.g., the x-axis)towards one or more grooves 916. The first axis may be orthogonal to theoptical axis 910. In this manner, the size of the camera module may bereduced along a second axis (e.g., the y-axis) that is orthogonal to thefirst axis and/or to the optical axis 910. In some embodiments, one ormore of the protrusions 914 may have faces that are parallel to theoptical axis 910, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 9. Additionally, oralternatively, one or more of the protrusions 914 may include an angledface (e.g., a face that is non-parallel with the optical axis 910) thatmay fit within a groove having a corresponding angle, e.g., as discussedabove with reference to FIGS. 4A-4B.

According to some embodiments, the grooves 912 may be defined by thelens barrel 904 and/or the lens carrier 906. The protrusions 914 mayextend from the lens barrel 104 and/or the lens carrier 106 to at leastpartially into the grooves 912. In some cases, each of the protrusions914 may extend towards a respective groove 912 in direction that isorthogonal to the optical axis 910. In some examples, the grooves 112may L-shaped grooves formed circumferentially along an outer peripheryof the lens barrel 904 and/or an inner periphery of the lens carrier906. FIG. 9 shows grooves 912 defined by the lens carrier 906, andprotrusions 914 extending from the lens barrel 904 to at least partiallyinto the grooves 912.

In various examples, the interlock arrangement 902 may include anadhesive (e.g., epoxy, glue, etc.). The adhesive may at least partiallyfill gaps within the interlock arrangement 902 between the lens barrel904 and the lens carrier 906. According to some embodiments, theinterlock arrangement 902 may include one or more recesses, e.g., asdescribed herein with reference to FIGS. 1-8 and 10. The recesses mayprovide an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to the gaps withinthe interlock arrangement 902 between the lens barrel 904 and the lenscarrier 906.

For instance, a recess 116 may be defined by the lens barrel 104. Therecess 116 may provide an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to thegaps within the interlock arrangement 102 between the lens barrel 104and the lens carrier 106. For instance, the adhesive may be dispensedinto the interlock arrangement 102 via the recess 116, and the adhesivemay travel via capillary effect to at least partially fill gaps withinthe interlock arrangement 102.

According to some embodiments, the interlock arrangement 902 may includetwo grooves 912 and two protrusions 914, e.g., as indicated in FIG. 9.In some embodiments, a first protrusion 114 and a second protrusion 114may be located opposite one another with respect to the lens barrel 904.It should be understood, however, that in some embodiments the interlockarrangement 902 may include fewer or more grooves 912 and/or protrusions914 than shown in FIG. 9. It should also be understood that in someembodiments the grooves 912 and/or protrusions 114 may be shaped,positioned, and/or oriented differently than shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example method 1000 of assembling a cameramodule having an interlock arrangement, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, the method 700 may include one ormultiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodimentsdescribed herein with reference to FIGS. 1-9 and 11-14.

At 1002, the method 1000 may include inserting a lens barrel at leastpartially into a lens carrier. For example, the lens barrel may beinserted into the lens carrier such that a protrusion of the interlockarrangement extends at least partially into a groove of the interlockarrangement. The protrusion may be defined by the lens barrel or thelens carrier. In various examples, the groove may be defined by theother of the lens barrel or the lens carrier that does not define theprotrusion. In some embodiments, the protrusion may be defined by thelens barrel and the groove may be defined by the lens carrier. In somecases, the protrusion may be defined by the lens carrier and the groovemay be defined by the lens barrel. According to various embodiments, theinterlock arrangement may include multiple protrusions defined by thelens barrel and/or the lens carrier, and multiple grooves defined by thelens barrel and/or the lens carrier.

At 1004, the method 1000 may include rotating the lens barrel about anoptical axis. For instance, the lens barrel may be rotated about anoptical axis defined by one or more lens elements held by the lensbarrel. In some examples, the lens barrel may be rotated clockwise. Inother examples, the lens barrel may be rotated counterclockwise.

At 1006, the method 1000 may include dispensing an adhesive (e.g.,epoxy, glue, etc.) into a recess formed on the lens barrel. The recessmay provide an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to the interlockarrangement. In some embodiments, the adhesive may be dispensed into therecess such that the adhesive travels to at least partially fill gapswithin the interlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lenscarrier.

At 1008, the method 1000 may include determining whether to performoptical alignment (e.g., an active alignment process). If it isdetermined, at 1008, to perform optical alignment, then the method 1000may include adjusting a position of the lens barrel relative to an imagesensor of the camera module to optically align the lens with the imagesensor, at 1010. In some cases, the method 1000 may include curing theadhesive, at 1012. For example, the adhesive may be cured before,during, and/or after performing optical alignment. As another example,the adhesive may be cured during and/or after dispensing the adhesiveinto the recess, e.g., if it is determined, at 1008, not to performoptical alignment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic side view of an example camera module1100 having an example voice coil motor (VCM) actuator for moving anoptical package 1102 that may include an interlock arrangement, inaccordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the camera module1100 may include one or multiple features, components, and/orfunctionality of embodiments described herein with reference to FIGS.1-10 and 12-14.

As shown in FIG. 11, the actuator 1100 may include a base or substrate1104 and a cover 1106. The base 1104 may include and/or support one ormore position sensors (e.g., Hall sensors, TMR sensors, GMR sensors,etc.) 1108, one or more optical image stabilization coils 1110, and oneor more suspension wires 1112, which may at least partly enable magneticsensing for autofocus and/or optical image stabilization positiondetection, e.g., by detecting movements of position sensor magnets 1114.

In some embodiments, the actuator 1100 may include one or more autofocuscoils 1116 and one or more actuator magnets 1118, which may at leastpartly enable autofocus functionality such as moving the optical package1102 along the z axis and/or along an optical axis defined by one ormore lenses of the optical package 1102. In some examples, at least oneposition sensor magnet 1114 may be disposed proximate to at least oneautofocus coil 1116. In some embodiments, at least one position sensormagnet 1114 may be coupled to at least one autofocus coil 1116. Forinstance, the autofocus coils 1116 may each define a central space thatis encircled by the respective autofocus coil 1116. The position sensormagnets 1114 may be disposed within the central spaces encircled by theautofocus coils 1116. Additionally or alternatively, the position sensormagnets 1114 may be attached to support structures (not shown) that arefixed to the autofocus coils 1116. For example, a support structure, towhich a position sensor magnet 1114 is attached, may be disposed withina central space encircled by an autofocus coil 1116 and the supportstructure may be fixed to the autofocus coil 1116.

In some embodiments, the actuator 1100 may include four suspension wires1112. The optical package 1102 may be suspended with respect to the base1104 by suspending one or more upper springs 1120 on the suspensionwires 1112. In some embodiments, the actuator may include one or morelower springs 1122. In the optical package 1102, an optics component(e.g., one or more lens elements, a lens assembly, etc.) may be screwed,mounted or otherwise held in or by an optics holder. Note that upperspring(s) 1120 and lower spring(s) 1122 may be flexible to allow theoptical package 1102 a range of motion along the Z (optical) axis foroptical focusing, and suspension wires 1112 may be flexible to allow arange of motion on the x-y plane orthogonal to the optical axis foroptical image stabilization. Also note that, while embodiments show theoptical package 1102 suspended on wires 1112, other mechanisms may beused to suspend the optical package 1102 in other embodiments.

In various embodiments, the camera module may include an image sensor1124. The image sensor 1124 may be disposed below the optical package1102 such that light rays may pass through one or more lens elements ofthe optical package 1102 (e.g., via an aperture at the top of theoptical package 1102) and to the image sensor 1124.

Multifunction Device Examples

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a portable multifunction device1200, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, theportable multifunction device 1200 may include one or multiple features,components, and/or implement functionality of embodiments describedherein with reference to FIGS. 1-11, 13, and 14.

In some embodiments, the device 1200 is a portable communicationsdevice, such as a mobile telephone, that also contains other functions,such as PDA, camera, video capture and/or playback, and/or music playerfunctions. Example embodiments of portable multifunction devicesinclude, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devicesfrom Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronic devices,such as laptops, cell phones, smartphones, pad or tablet computers withtouch-sensitive surfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touchpads), may also be used. It should also be understood that, in someembodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but isa desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screendisplay and/or a touch pad). In some embodiments, the device is a gamingcomputer with orientation sensors (e.g., orientation sensors in a gamingcontroller). In other embodiments, the device is not a portablecommunications device, but is a camera and/or video camera.

In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the electronic device may include one or moreother physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, amouse and/or a joystick.

The device 1200 typically supports a variety of applications, such asone or more of the following: a drawing application, a presentationapplication, a word processing application, a website creationapplication, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, agaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencingapplication, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, aworkout support application, a photo management application, a digitalcamera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, a streaming videoapplication, and/or a digital video player application.

The various applications that may be executed on the device 1200 may useat least one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device maybe adjusted and/or varied from one application to the next and/or withina respective application. In this way, a common physical architecture(such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the device may support thevariety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive andtransparent to the user.

Device 1200 may include memory 1202 (which may include one or morecomputer readable storage mediums), memory controller 1222, one or moreprocessing units (CPU's) 1220, peripherals interface 1218, RF circuitry1208, audio circuitry 1210, speaker 1211, touch-sensitive display system1212, microphone 1213, input/output (I/O) subsystem 1206, other inputcontrol devices 1216, and external port 1224. Device 1200 may includeone or more optical sensors or cameras 1264 (e.g., one or moreembodiments of the cameras described herein). These components maycommunicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 1203.

It should be appreciated that device 1200 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 1200 may have more orfewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or mayhave a different configuration or arrangement of the components. Thevarious components shown in FIG. 12 may be implemented in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one ormore signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.

Memory 1202 may include high-speed random access memory and may alsoinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memorydevices. Access to memory 1202 by other components of device 1200, suchas CPU 1220 and the peripherals interface 1218, may be controlled bymemory controller 1222.

Peripherals interface 1218 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 1220 and memory 1202. The one or moreprocessors 1220 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 1202 to perform various functions fordevice 1200 and to process data.

In some embodiments, peripherals interface 1218, CPU 1220, and memorycontroller 1222 may be implemented on a single chip, such as chip 1204.In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 1208 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 1208 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 1208 may include well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a coder/decoder(codec) chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and soforth. RF circuitry 1208 may communicate with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wirelesscommunication may use any of a variety of communications standards,protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE),high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packetaccess (HSUPA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b,IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP),Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol(IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g.,extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session InitiationProtocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions(SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or ShortMessage Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol,including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filingdate of this document.

Audio circuitry 1210, speaker 1211, and microphone 1213 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 1200. Audio circuitry 1210 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 1218, converts the audio data toan electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker1211. Speaker 1211 converts the electrical signal to audible soundwaves. Audio circuitry 1210 also receives electrical signals convertedby microphone 1213 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 1210 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 1218 for processing. Audio data may be retrievedfrom and/or transmitted to memory 1202 and/or RF circuitry 1208 byperipherals interface 1218. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 1210also includes a headset jack. The headset jack provides an interfacebetween audio circuitry 1210 and removable audio input/outputperipherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with bothoutput (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., amicrophone).

I/O subsystem 1206 couples input/output peripherals on device 1200, suchas touch screen 1212 and other input control devices 1216, toperipherals interface 1218. I/O subsystem 1206 may include displaycontroller 1256 and one or more input controllers 1260 for other inputcontrol devices 1216. The one or more input controllers 1260receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices1216. The other input control devices 1216 may include physical buttons(e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches,joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternative embodiments,input controller(s) 1260 may be coupled to any (or none) of thefollowing: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and a pointer devicesuch as a mouse. The one or more buttons may include an up/down buttonfor volume control of speaker 1211 and/or microphone 1213. The one ormore buttons may include a push button.

Touch-sensitive display 1212 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 1256receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 1212.Touch screen 1212 displays visual output to the user. The visual outputmay include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof(collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all ofthe visual output may correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 1212 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. Touch screen 1212 and display controller 1256 (along with anyassociated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 1202) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen1212 and converts the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages orimages) that are displayed on touch screen 1212. In an exampleembodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 1212 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 1212 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD(light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emittingdiode) technology, although other display technologies may be used inother embodiments. Touch screen 1212 and display controller 1256 maydetect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of avariety of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed,including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, andsurface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensorarrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contactwith touch screen 1212. In an example embodiment, projected mutualcapacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

Touch screen 1212 may have a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. Insome embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user may make contact with touch screen 1212using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, andso forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to workprimarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be lessprecise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of afinger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translatesthe rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position orcommand for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen 1212, device 1200may include a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivatingparticular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is atouch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, doesnot display visual output. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surfacethat is separate from touch screen 1212 or an extension of thetouch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

Device 1200 also includes power system 1262 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 1262 may include a power management system, oneor more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), arecharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converteror inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 1200 may also include one or more optical sensors or cameras1264. FIG. 12 shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensorcontroller 1258 in I/O subsystem 1206. Optical sensor 1264 may, forexample, include charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors or photosensors.Optical sensor 1264 receives light from the environment, projectedthrough one or more lenses, and converts the light to data representingan image. In conjunction with imaging module 1243 (also called a cameramodule), optical sensor 1264 may capture still images and/or videosequences. In some embodiments, at least one optical sensor may belocated on the back of device 1200, opposite touch screen display 1212on the front of the device. In some embodiments, the touch screendisplay may be used as a viewfinder for still and/or video imageacquisition. In some embodiments, at least one optical sensor mayinstead or also be located on the front of the device.

Device 1200 may also include one or more proximity sensors 1266. FIG. 12shows proximity sensor 1266 coupled to peripherals interface 1218.Alternatively, proximity sensor 1266 may be coupled to input controller1260 in I/O subsystem 1206. In some embodiments, the proximity sensorturns off and disables touch screen 1212 when the multifunction deviceis placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phonecall).

Device 1200 may also include one or more orientation sensors 1268. Insome embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include one ormore accelerometers (e.g., one or more linear accelerometers and/or oneor more rotational accelerometers). In some embodiments, the one or moreorientation sensors include one or more gyroscopes. In some embodiments,the one or more orientation sensors include one or more magnetometers.In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include one ormore of global positioning system (GPS), Global Navigation SatelliteSystem (GLONASS), and/or other global navigation system receivers. TheGPS, GLONASS, and/or other global navigation system receivers may beused for obtaining information concerning the location and orientation(e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 1200. In some embodiments, theone or more orientation sensors include any combination oforientation/rotation sensors. FIG. 12 shows the one or more orientationsensors 1268 coupled to peripherals interface 1218. Alternatively, theone or more orientation sensors 1268 may be coupled to an inputcontroller 1260 in I/O subsystem 1206. In some embodiments, informationis displayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or alandscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one ormore orientation sensors.

In some embodiments, device 1200 may also include one or more othersensors (not shown) including but not limited to ambient light sensorsand motion detectors. These sensors may be coupled to peripheralsinterface 1218 or, alternatively, may be coupled to an input controller1260 in I/O subsystem 1206. For example, in some embodiments, device1200 may include at least one forward-facing (away from the user) and atleast one backward-facing (towards the user) light sensors that may beused to collect ambient lighting metrics from the environment of thedevice 1200 for use in video and image capture, processing, and displayapplications.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 1202include operating system 1226, communication module 1228, contact/motionmodule (or set of instructions) 1230, graphics module 1232, text inputmodule 1234, Global Positioning System (GPS) module 1235, andapplications 1236. Furthermore, in some embodiments memory 1202 storesdevice/global internal state 1257. Device/global internal state 1257includes one or more of: active application state, indicating whichapplications, if any, are currently active; display state, indicatingwhat applications, views or other information occupy various regions oftouch screen display 1212; sensor state, including information obtainedfrom the device's various sensors and input control devices 1216; andlocation information concerning the device's location and/or attitude.

Operating system 1226 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS,or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes varioussoftware components and/or drivers for controlling and managing generalsystem tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, powermanagement, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardwareand software components.

Communication module 1228 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 1224 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 1208 and/orexternal port 1224. External port 1224 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus(USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devicesor indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.).In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 1230 may detect contact with touch screen 1212 (inconjunction with display controller 1256) and other touch sensitivedevices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Contact/motionmodule 1230 includes various software components for performing variousoperations related to detection of contact, such as determining ifcontact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determiningif there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-draggingevents), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting afinger-up event or a break in contact). Contact/motion module 1230receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determiningmovement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series ofcontact data, may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity(magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitudeand/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations may beapplied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiplesimultaneous contacts (e.g., “multi-touch”/multiple finger contacts). Insome embodiments, contact/motion module 1230 and display controller 1256detect contact on a touchpad.

Contact/motion module 1230 may detect a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns. Thus, a gesture may be detected by detecting a particularcontact pattern. For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includesdetecting a finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially the same position) asthe finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon). As anotherexample, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive surfaceincludes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting one or morefinger-dragging events, and subsequently followed by detecting afinger-up (lift off) event.

Graphics module 1232 includes various software components for renderingand displaying graphics on touch screen 1212 or other display, includingcomponents for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed. Asused herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can bedisplayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons(such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images,videos, animations and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 1232 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic may be assigned a corresponding code.Graphics module 1232 receives, from applications etc., one or more codesspecifying graphics to be displayed along with, if necessary, coordinatedata and other graphic property data, and then generates screen imagedata to output to display controller 1256.

Text input module 1234, which may be a component of graphics module1232, provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applicationsthat need text input.

GPS module 1235 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone module1238 for use in location-based dialing, to camera module 1243 aspicture/video metadata, and to applications that provide location-basedservices such as map/navigation applications).

Applications 1236 may include one or more of, but are not limited to,the following modules (or sets of instructions), or a subset or supersetthereof:

-   -   telephone module 1238;    -   video conferencing module 1239;    -   camera module 1243 for still and/or video imaging;    -   image management module 1244;    -   browser module 1247;    -   search module 1251;    -   video and music player module 1252, which may be made up of a        video player module and a music player module; and/or    -   online video module 1255.    -   one or more other modules not shown, such as a gaming module.

Examples of other applications 1236 that may be stored in memory 1202include but are not limited to other word processing applications, otherimage editing applications, drawing applications, presentationapplications, communication/social media applications, map applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 1208, audio circuitry 1210, speaker1211, microphone 1213, touch screen 1212, display controller 1256,contact module 1230, graphics module 1232, and text input module 1234,telephone module 1238 may be used to enter a sequence of characterscorresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephonenumbers in an address book, modify a telephone number that has beenentered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation anddisconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As notedabove, the wireless communication may use any of a variety ofcommunications standards, protocols and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 1208, audio circuitry 1210, speaker1211, microphone 1213, touch screen 1212, display controller 1256,optical sensor 1264, optical sensor controller 1258, contact/motionmodule 1230, graphics module 1232, text input module 1234, and telephonemodule 1238, videoconferencing module 1239 includes executableinstructions to initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conferencebetween a user and one or more other participants in accordance withuser instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 1212, display controller 1256, opticalsensor(s) 1264, optical sensor controller 1258, contact/motion module1230, graphics module 1232, and image management module 1244, cameramodule 1243 includes executable instructions to capture still images orvideo (including a video stream) and store them into memory 1202, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 1202.

In conjunction with touch screen 1212, display controller 1256,contact/motion module 1230, graphics module 1232, text input module1234, and camera module 1243, image management module 1244 includesexecutable instructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwisemanipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show oralbum), and store still and/or video images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 1208, touch screen 1212, display systemcontroller 1256, contact/motion module 1230, graphics module 1232, andtext input module 1234, browser module 1247 includes executableinstructions to browse the Internet in accordance with userinstructions, including searching, linking to, receiving, and displayingweb pages or portions thereof, as well as attachments and other fileslinked to web pages.

In conjunction with touch screen 1212, display system controller 1256,contact/motion module 1230, graphics module 1232, and text input module1234, search module 1251 includes executable instructions to search fortext, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 1202 thatmatch one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specifiedsearch terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 1212, display system controller 1256,contact/motion module 1230, graphics module 1232, audio circuitry 1210,speaker 1211, RF circuitry 1208, and browser module 1247, video andmusic player module 1252 includes executable instructions that allow theuser to download and play back recorded music and other sound filesstored in one or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, andexecutable instructions to display, present or otherwise play backvideos (e.g., on touch screen 1212 or on an external, connected displayvia external port 1224). In some embodiments, device 1200 may includethe functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 1212, display system controller 1256,contact/motion module 1230, graphics module 1232, audio circuitry 1210,speaker 1211, RF circuitry 1208, text input module 1234, and browsermodule 1247, online video module 1255 includes instructions that allowthe user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and/ordownload), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on an external,connected display via external port 1224), and otherwise manage onlinevideos in one or more video formats, such as the H.264/AVC format or theH.265/HEVC format.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 1202 maystore a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, memory 1202 may store additional modules and datastructures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 1200 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device1200, the number of physical input control devices (such as pushbuttons, dials, and the like) on device 1200 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between userinterfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user,navigates device 1200 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that may be displayed on device 1200. In such embodiments, thetouchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some otherembodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or otherphysical input control device instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 13 depicts illustrates an example portable multifunction device1200 that may include one or more cameras, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, the portable multifunction device 1200may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionalityof embodiments described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-12 and 14.

The device 1200 may have a touch screen 1212. The touch screen 1212 maydisplay one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 1300. In thisembodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one ormore of the graphics by making a gesture on the graphics, for example,with one or more fingers 1302 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or oneor more styluses 1303 (not drawn to scale in the figure).

Device 1200 may also include one or more physical buttons, such as“home” or menu button 1204. As described previously, menu button 1304may be used to navigate to any application 1236 in a set of applicationsthat may be executed on device 1200. Alternatively, in some embodiments,the menu button 1304 is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed ontouch screen 1212.

In one embodiment, device 1200 includes touch screen 1212, menu button1304, push button 1306 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 1308, Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) card slot 1310, head set jack 1312, and docking/charging externalport 1224. Push button 1306 may be used to turn the power on/off on thedevice by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressedstate for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressingthe button and releasing the button before the predefined time intervalhas elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process.In an alternative embodiment, device 1200 also may accept verbal inputfor activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone1213.

It should be noted that, although many of the examples herein are givenwith reference to optical sensor(s)/camera(s) 1264 (on the front of adevice), one or more rear-facing cameras or optical sensors that arepointed opposite from the display may be used instead of, or in additionto, an optical sensor(s)/camera(s) 1264 on the front of a device.

Example Computer System

FIG. 14 illustrates an example computer system 1400 that may include oneor more cameras, in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, the computer system 1400 may include one or multiplefeatures, components, and/or implement functionality of embodimentsdescribed herein with reference to FIGS. 1-13.

The computer system 1400 may be configured to execute any or all of theembodiments described above. In different embodiments, computer system1400 may be any of various types of devices, including, but not limitedto, a personal computer system, desktop computer, laptop, notebook,tablet, slate, pad, or netbook computer, mainframe computer system,handheld computer, workstation, network computer, a camera, a set topbox, a mobile device, a consumer device, video game console, handheldvideo game device, application server, storage device, a television, avideo recording device, a peripheral device such as a switch, modem,router, or in general any type of computing or electronic device.

Various embodiments of a camera motion control system as describedherein, including embodiments of magnetic position sensing, as describedherein may be executed in one or more computer systems 1400, which mayinteract with various other devices. Note that any component, action, orfunctionality described above with respect to FIGS. 1-9 may beimplemented on one or more computers configured as computer system 1400of FIG. 14, according to various embodiments. In the illustratedembodiment, computer system 1400 includes one or more processors 1410coupled to a system memory 1420 via an input/output (I/O) interface1430. Computer system 1400 further includes a network interface 1440coupled to I/O interface 1430, and one or more input/output devices1450, such as cursor control device 1460, keyboard 1470, and display(s)1480. In some cases, it is contemplated that embodiments may beimplemented using a single instance of computer system 1400, while inother embodiments multiple such systems, or multiple nodes making upcomputer system 1400, may be configured to host different portions orinstances of embodiments. For example, in one embodiment some elementsmay be implemented via one or more nodes of computer system 1400 thatare distinct from those nodes implementing other elements.

In various embodiments, computer system 1400 may be a uniprocessorsystem including one processor 1410, or a multiprocessor systemincluding several processors 1410 (e.g., two, four, eight, or anothersuitable number). Processors 1410 may be any suitable processor capableof executing instructions. For example, in various embodimentsprocessors 1410 may be general-purpose or embedded processorsimplementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs),such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitableISA. In multiprocessor systems, each of processors 1410 may commonly,but not necessarily, implement the same ISA.

System memory 1420 may be configured to store program instructions 1422accessible by processor 1410. In various embodiments, system memory 1420may be implemented using any suitable memory technology, such as staticrandom access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM),nonvolatile/Flash-type memory, or any other type of memory.Additionally, existing camera control data 1432 of memory 1420 mayinclude any of the information or data structures described above. Insome embodiments, program instructions and/or data may be received, sentor stored upon different types of computer-accessible media or onsimilar media separate from system memory 1420 or computer system 1400.While computer system 1400 is described as implementing thefunctionality of functional blocks of previous figures, any of thefunctionality described herein may be implemented via such a computersystem.

In one embodiment, I/O interface 1430 may be configured to coordinateI/O traffic between processor 1410, system memory 1420, and anyperipheral devices in the device, including network interface 1440 orother peripheral interfaces, such as input/output devices 1450. In someembodiments, I/O interface 1430 may perform any necessary protocol,timing or other data transformations to convert data signals from onecomponent (e.g., system memory 1420) into a format suitable for use byanother component (e.g., processor 1410). In some embodiments, I/Ointerface 1430 may include support for devices attached through varioustypes of peripheral buses, such as a variant of the Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB)standard, for example. In some embodiments, the function of I/Ointerface 1430 may be split into two or more separate components, suchas a north bridge and a south bridge, for example. Also, in someembodiments some or all of the functionality of I/O interface 1430, suchas an interface to system memory 1420, may be incorporated directly intoprocessor 1410.

Network interface 1440 may be configured to allow data to be exchangedbetween computer system 1400 and other devices attached to a network1485 (e.g., carrier or agent devices) or between nodes of computersystem 1400. Network 1485 may in various embodiments include one or morenetworks including but not limited to Local Area Networks (LANs) (e.g.,an Ethernet or corporate network), Wide Area Networks (WANs) (e.g., theInternet), wireless data networks, some other electronic data network,or some combination thereof. In various embodiments, network interface1440 may support communication via wired or wireless general datanetworks, such as any suitable type of Ethernet network, for example;via telecommunications/telephony networks such as analog voice networksor digital fiber communications networks; via storage area networks suchas Fibre Channel SANs, or via any other suitable type of network and/orprotocol.

Input/output devices 1450 may, in some embodiments, include one or moredisplay terminals, keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanning devices,voice or optical recognition devices, or any other devices suitable forentering or accessing data by one or more computer systems 1400.Multiple input/output devices 1450 may be present in computer system1400 or may be distributed on various nodes of computer system 1400. Insome embodiments, similar input/output devices may be separate fromcomputer system 1400 and may interact with one or more nodes of computersystem 1400 through a wired or wireless connection, such as over networkinterface 1440.

As shown in FIG. 14, memory 1420 may include program instructions 1422,which may be processor-executable to implement any element or actiondescribed above. In one embodiment, the program instructions mayimplement the methods described above. In other embodiments, differentelements and data may be included. Note that data may include any dataor information described above.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system 1400 ismerely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope ofembodiments. In particular, the computer system and devices may includeany combination of hardware or software that can perform the indicatedfunctions, including computers, network devices, Internet appliances,PDAs, wireless phones, pagers, etc. Computer system 1400 may also beconnected to other devices that are not illustrated, or instead mayoperate as a stand-alone system. In addition, the functionality providedby the illustrated components may in some embodiments be combined infewer components or distributed in additional components. Similarly, insome embodiments, the functionality of some of the illustratedcomponents may not be provided and/or other additional functionality maybe available.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, while various itemsare illustrated as being stored in memory or on storage while beingused, these items or portions of them may be transferred between memoryand other storage devices for purposes of memory management and dataintegrity. Alternatively, in other embodiments some or all of thesoftware components may execute in memory on another device andcommunicate with the illustrated computer system via inter-computercommunication. Some or all of the system components or data structuresmay also be stored (e.g., as instructions or structured data) on acomputer-accessible medium or a portable article to be read by anappropriate drive, various examples of which are described above. Insome embodiments, instructions stored on a computer-accessible mediumseparate from computer system 1400 may be transmitted to computer system1400 via transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication mediumsuch as a network and/or a wireless link. Various embodiments mayfurther include receiving, sending or storing instructions and/or dataimplemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon acomputer-accessible medium. Generally speaking, a computer-accessiblemedium may include a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium ormemory medium such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk orDVD/CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR,RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc. In some embodiments, a computer-accessiblemedium may include transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication mediumsuch as network and/or a wireless link.

The methods described herein may be implemented in software, hardware,or a combination thereof, in different embodiments. In addition, theorder of the blocks of the methods may be changed, and various elementsmay be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. Variousmodifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to a personskilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. The variousembodiments described herein are meant to be illustrative and notlimiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvementsare possible. Accordingly, plural instances may be provided forcomponents described herein as a single instance. Boundaries betweenvarious components, operations and data stores are somewhat arbitrary,and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specificillustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality areenvisioned and may fall within the scope of claims that follow. Finally,structures and functionality presented as discrete components in theexample configurations may be implemented as a combined structure orcomponent. These and other variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements may fall within the scope of embodiments as defined in theclaims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a lens barrel to hold oneor more lens elements that define an optical axis; a lens carrier thatattaches to the lens barrel at least partially via an interlockarrangement that restricts movement of the lens barrel relative to thelens carrier along at least the optical axis; wherein the interlockarrangement includes: a groove defined by the lens barrel or the lenscarrier; a protrusion that extends from the lens barrel or the lenscarrier to at least partially into the groove; an adhesive that at leastpartially fills gaps within the interlock arrangement between the lensbarrel and the lens carrier; and a discrete recess defined in a surfaceof the lens barrel or the lens carrier, wherein the discrete recess ispositioned proximate the groove and the protrusion such that thediscrete recess provides an inlet for the adhesive to be introduced tothe gaps within the interlock arrangement between surfaces of the grooveand the protrusion.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the adhesiveincludes: at least a first portion that is in compression between thelens barrel and the lens carrier when force is applied to the lensbarrel in a first direction that is parallel to the optical axis; and atleast a second portion that is in compression between the lens barreland the lens carrier when force is applied to the lens barrel in asecond direction that is opposite the first direction.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the interlock arrangement forms a channel between thelens barrel and the lens carrier that is sized such that, when theadhesive is introduced via the discrete recess, the adhesive traversesthe channel via capillary effect to at least partially fill the gapswithin the interlock arrangement between the lens barrel and the lenscarrier.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the groove is an L-shapedgroove formed circumferentially along an outer periphery of the lensbarrel or an inner periphery of the lens carrier.
 5. The device of claim1, wherein the protrusion extends towards the groove in a direction thatis orthogonal to the optical axis.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein:the groove is a first groove; the protrusion is a first protrusion; theinterlock arrangement further comprises: a second groove defined by thelens barrel or the lens carrier, wherein the second groove is oppositethe first groove with respect to the lens barrel; and a secondprotrusion that extends from the lens barrel or the lens carrier to atleast partially into the second groove, wherein the second protrusion isopposite the first protrusion with respect to the lens barrel.
 7. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein: the device is a mobile multifunction device;and the device further comprises: a display; a camera module, including:the lens barrel; the lens carrier; the interlock arrangement; an imagesensor configured to capture light passing through the one or more lenselements and convert the captured light into image signals; and a lensactuator to move the lens carrier relative to the image sensor; and oneor more processors to: cause the lens actuator to move the lens carrierrelative to the image sensor; and cause the display to present an imagebased at least in part on one or more of the image signals from theimage sensor.
 8. A camera module, comprising: one or more lens elementsthat define an optical axis; and a lens barrel that holds the one ormore lens elements; a lens carrier; and an interlock arrangement toattach the lens barrel to the lens carrier, wherein the interlockarrangement includes: one or more grooves defined by at least one of thelens barrel or the lens carrier; one or more protrusions extending fromat least one of the lens barrel or the lens carrier, wherein eachrespective protrusion of the one or more protrusions extends at leastpartially into a respective groove of the one or more grooves; anadhesive that at least partially fills gaps within the interlockarrangement between the lens barrel and the lens carrier, wherein one ormore portions of the adhesive are in compression when force is appliedto the lens barrel in directions parallel to the optical axis; and oneor more discrete recesses defined in a surface of the lens barrel or thelens carrier, wherein a discrete recess of the one or more discreterecesses is positioned proximate a corresponding groove and protrusionsuch that the discrete recess provides an inlet for the adhesive to beintroduced to the gaps within the interlock arrangement between surfacesof the groove and protrusion.
 9. The camera module of claim 8, whereinthe interlock arrangement forms one or more channels between the lensbarrel and the lens carrier that are sized such that, when the adhesiveis introduced via the one or more discrete recesses, the adhesivetraverses the one or more channels via capillary effect to at leastpartially fill the gaps within the interlock arrangement between thelens barrel and the lens carrier.
 10. The camera module of claim 8,wherein the adhesive includes: at least a first portion that is incompression between the lens barrel and the lens carrier when force isapplied to the lens barrel in a first direction that is parallel to theoptical axis; and at least a second portion that is in compressionbetween the lens barrel and the lens carrier when force is applied tothe lens barrel in a second direction that is opposite the firstdirection.
 11. The camera module of claim 8, wherein: the one or moregrooves include a first groove defined by the lens carrier; the one ormore protrusions include a first protrusion that extends from the lensbarrel to at least partially into the first groove; and the discreterecess comprises: a first discrete recess defined by the lens barrel andlocated proximate the first protrusion, wherein the first discreterecess provides a first inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to gapswithin the interlock arrangement between surfaces of the first grooveand the first protrusion.
 12. The camera module of claim 11, wherein:the one or more grooves further include a second groove defined by thelens carrier; the one or more protrusions further include a secondprotrusion that extends from the lens barrel to at least partially intothe second groove, the second protrusion opposite the first protrusionwith respect to the lens barrel; and the one or more discrete recessesfurther comprise: a second discrete recess defined by the lens barreland located proximate the second protrusion, wherein the second discreterecess provides a second inlet for the adhesive to be introduced to gapswithin the interlock arrangement between surfaces of the second grooveand the second protrusion.
 13. The camera module of claim 8, wherein:the one or more grooves include a first groove defined by the lensbarrel; the one or more protrusions include a first protrusion thatextends from the lens carrier to at least partially into the firstgroove; and the lens barrel comprises a shoulder that extends along aplane orthogonal to the optical axis; the discrete recess comprises: afirst discrete recess defined by the shoulder and located proximate thefirst groove, wherein the first discrete recess provides a first inletfor the adhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlockarrangement between surfaces of the first groove and the firstprotrusion.
 14. The camera module of claim 13, wherein: the one or moregrooves further include a second groove defined by the lens barrel; theone or more protrusions further include a second protrusion that extendsfrom the lens carrier to at least partially into the second groove, thesecond protrusion opposite the first protrusion with respect to the lensbarrel; and the one or more discrete recesses further comprise: a seconddiscrete recess defined by the shoulder and located proximate the secondgroove, wherein the second discrete recess provides a second inlet forthe adhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlock arrangementbetween surfaces of the second groove and the second protrusion.
 15. Amethod of assembling a camera module having an interlock arrangement,the method comprising: inserting a lens barrel at least partially into alens carrier such that a protrusion of the interlock arrangement extendsfrom the lens barrel or the lens carrier to at least partially into afirst portion of a groove of the interlock arrangement, wherein thegroove is defined by the lens barrel or the lens carrier; rotating thelens barrel about an optical axis defined by one or more lens elementsheld by the lens barrel, such that the protrusion extends at leastpartially into a second portion of the groove; and dispensing anadhesive into a discrete recess defined in a surface of the lens barrelor the lens carrier, wherein the discrete recess is positioned proximatethe groove and the protrusion such that the discrete recess provides aninlet for the adhesive to be introduced to gaps within the interlockarrangement between surfaces of the groove and the protrusion.
 16. Thecamera module of claim 8, further comprising: an image sensor configuredto capture light passing through the one or more lens elements; and anactuator to move the lens carrier relative to the image sensor.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: adjusting a position of the lensbarrel relative to an image sensor to orient the one or more lenselements in an aligned position in which the one or more lens elementsare optically aligned with the image sensor, wherein the adjustingoccurs during a time period that occurs after the rotating the lensbarrel.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: curing theadhesive to bond the lens barrel to the lens carrier and to fix the oneor more lens elements in the aligned position.
 19. The method of claim15, wherein: the dispensing the adhesive into the discrete recesscomprises: filling, with a first portion of the adhesive and viacapillary effect, a first gap between a first surface of the protrusionand a first surface of the groove; and the first portion of the adhesiveis in compression when force is applied to the lens barrel in at least afirst direction that is parallel to the optical axis.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein: the dispensing the adhesive into the discrete recessfurther comprises: filling, with a second portion of the adhesive andvia capillary effect, a second gap between the lens barrel and thegroove; and the second portion of the adhesive is in compression whenforce is applied to the lens barrel in at least a second direction thatis opposite the first direction.